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Mitt Romney’s Views on Education
A Romney Presidency would likely include merit programs, more school choice and continued Federal involvement in education.
Former Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA) has a long public track record of positions on issues regarding education. As he gears up for his second run at the Republican nomination for president, some analysis of those positions is warranted.
School Performance and curriculum
Governor Romney openly supports an increase is overall standards for education and says that if he were elected in 2012, he would push for quality-based incentives for teachers. He has stated that he would begin by identifying and cataloging which schools in the country are working and which are not. The term Gov. Romney most often uses in this context is “accountability.” He is a proponent of school vouchers on a wide-scale level across the country, and is open about his desire to all students – regardless of their ethnicity – immersed in English-language education.
Romney has actively supported private and government efforts to increase merit scholarships for high school students. He has supported the idea to not only reform under-performing schools, but replace them with charter schools.
As governor of Massachusetts, Romney supported means-tested vouchers for public and private schools. He has opposed efforts to teach creationism in schools, but believes that there should be more of an emphasis on family values in the educational system. Along those same lines, Romney has supported efforts to fund nanotechnology and materials science education.
Romney has said that science-based sex education has no place in kindergarten. According to Romney, “The amount of sex education which is appropriate in kindergarten is absolutely zero.”
Federal-level involvement in education
Romney currently supports the federal government’s involvement in education and would keep in place the No Child Left Behind act created under President Bush in 2001. In a 2007 presidential debate, Romney said that he supports testing in schools and that testing “allows us to get better schools.” He also approved efforts in Massachusetts to require parents in poorly performing schools to attend parental education classes. This plan would also include the awarding of four-year scholarships to the best students. In an interview with The Concord Monitor, Romney also said he favors paying bonuses to teachers who “successfully teach.” In his 1994 run for the Senate, Romney supported abolishing the Department of Education but has since walked those remarks back.
In the second 2007 presidential debate in South Carolina, he said:
“I’ve taken a position where, once upon a time, I said I wanted to eliminate the Department of Education. That was my position when I ran for Senate in 1994. That’s very popular with the base. As I’ve been a governor and seen the impact that the federal government can have holding down the interest of the teachers’ unions and instead putting the interests of the kids and the parents and the teachers first, I see that the Department of Education can actually make a difference.”
Romney believes that a proper role for government in encouraging economic growth is ensuring that students receive the best education possible. After fostering a highly-educated workforce and lowering taxes, he asserts that the “best thing the country can do is unleash the power of entrepreneurs and get out of the way.”
Ways To Improve Education
In 1994 Romney, as a candidate for U.S. Senate, pledged to vote to establish a means-tested school voucher program to allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice. Romney has stated that superintendents and principals should be able to fire teachers without regard for seniority. He also has stated that he is in favor of standardized testing as a high school graduation requirement and alternative education options for parents and students. He has declared his support for charter schools, school vouchers and home schooling. Romney has said that good education is needed to compete in the global economy.
Wednesday
September 7th, 2011
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Comments
Wonderful
u suck mitt romney
[...] hasn’t always felt this way. In fact, in a 2007 debate, he praised the Education Department for making “a difference” for students: I’ve taken a position where, once upon a time, I said I wanted to eliminate the [...]
Keep the no child left behind act in place? Are you kidding me? It’s under funded, unrealistic, and doing anything for education. I guess you’d have to be a teacher in a classroom to understand this. From an outside perspective it looks all fine and dandy. I guess these are the people that ultimately make the decisions concerning education. People that know nothing about education. Just like some local school boards.
My husband and I are both teachers and while we may be biased, we are the ones that see education from the most realistic perspective. We deal with the students, the parents, the adminstrators, and we are the teachers. I will never be able to understand why politicians get to decide what goes on in schools, when they don’t have a clue! NCLB is causing exactly what it was created to prevent- leaving students behind!
I second that. When will Washington take their heads out of their a**es long enough to look at the education system their children are growing up in? Help fix the problems, not just point them out.
I agree completely. I am taking a course in education policy, and there are more than a few things wrong with it. My biggest issue with NCLB is taking away funding from underperforming school districts. Most of these school districts are failing because they have too many students and not enough money to stay afloat while getting up-to-date resources for them.
NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND is the absolute worst thing to happen to our schools. There are more children being left behind then ever before and they can shove that “MAP” testing. I wish every parent would refuse to send their child to school when that testing is going on, as a protest!!
[...] continuation of President George W. Bush’ No Child Left Behind Act. However, Romney also champions programs, including the expansion of tuition vouchers, to provide students with more robust school [...]
[...] continuation of President George W. Bush’ No Child Left Behind Act. However, Romney also champions programs, including the expansion of tuition vouchers, to provide students with more robust school [...]
[...] supports delay of President George W. Bush’ No Child Left Behind Act. However, Romney also champions programs, including a enlargement of fee vouchers, to yield students with some-more strong [...]
[...] continuation of President George W. Bush’ No Child Left Behind Act. However, Romney also champions programs, including the expansion of tuition vouchers, to provide students with more robust school [...]
NCLB is like setting someone up for failure. Statistically, it is impossible to get a 100 percent pass rate. Also, we are comparing ourselves to other nations when other nations separate their students around the age of 14 and send them on a polytech course line or a college bound courseline. ALL of our students are being compared to the college bound groups of other nations. That is comparing mixed fruit to oranges. This doesn’t even bring into focus the rampant cheating that takes place in many overseas programs. I prefer to see what industry needs in THIS country and meet THOSE standard. NCLB is a failure and a leach on society. It needs to be cast aside.
Hooray for Megan C! I too am seventeen years old and the daughter of a wonderful teacher. Eliminating the Department of education might have been one actually redeeming feature of Mitt Romney’s platform, and now he has gotten rid of it. Both No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top are more harmful than helpful to American education, and the latter is simply a half-baked reformation of the former. Let the educators deal with education, and let the policymakers let all of their aids look over other issues.
It seems like I can’t win……so who should I vote for in 2012?
In fact, the international assessments compare representative samples of the countries’ entire student populations. It’s simply NOT true that ALL of the U.S. students are being compared to an elite group elsewhere!
Your article leaves many questions. I’m an award winning teacher in California and a registered Democrat, yet this you tube link of Romney conflicts with the claims you make: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8gNLgQrwy0 . I am an agnostic and wouldn’t support a Republican under any other circumstances, but Obama has done little or nothing for education and at this point Romney, and what he did in Mass., speaks to me–Please enlighten me–
[...] Department of Education in the early 1990s, praised the DOE in 2007, stating that the department “can actually make a difference” in the lives of America’s [...]
President Obama endorsed the firing of tenured Rhode Island teachers. How quickly the AFT and others forget this. In addition, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan never taught as is the case with union bigwigs.
Democrats for Romney.
Why did the AFT endorse Mr. Obama so quickly for reelection. The Republicans hadn’t even started the primary-caucus process.
Support the NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND? Is he crazy? When we have legislature like this, we aren’t pushing forward with the children who can handle the enrichment. Take a look at the trends in students testing higher than average the last few years and see that it is declining. If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind! that is the mindset of our government leaders! There is no way to continue or we will soon be a 3rd world country! There are so many different learning styles and backgrounds coming into schools today, that we are spending more time doing intervention with those students than we are teaching to the whole class! I urge government officials to come into any realistic public education classroom and see the real world. Without parent support, governmental support, teachers are the only support most children receive. Keep up the great work teachers!
I have taught school for 16 years. NCLB is totally unrealistic. I was for Romney and think he would be the best to get America straight. My husband owns several grocery stores and other shopping centers. He never knew all that teachers put into their classroom until he married me. He had no idea as a business man that a mental child in the fourth grade on an IEP had to pass the same test as all normal average students. Students that can not hold a pencil and learning daily life skills are required by NCLB to pass a standardized test. We have the largest sub-group of special education students in our school system. These students are not going to preform at their level. To me that is like saying, “EVERYONE” must have an IQ such as Albert Einstein by year 2014. Completely impossible. If I am to be fired by not following a child;s IEP, then I feel the state & federal government should be required to follow that same IEP and those students should be tested ON THEIR LEVEL. A child that is three years behind and mental will not pass ON GRADE LEVEL testing. To punish teachers for special ed sub-groups and school systems is wrong and the worst thing that has ever happened to education. Our students have been set up to fail. NCLB needs to be corrected and the special education sub-group should be thrown out of the equation. I agree with the earlier remark ALL of our students are compared to the world’s best. This includes special ed sub-groups. The other nation’s gifted students are the only students compared to our countries “ALL” students.
[...] for dismantling the Department of Education, although he had supported that plan several years ago. EducationNews.org also did an article on Romney’s education views [...]
No Child Left Behind was set up as a means-to-an-end approach to education. The idea was that if tested results became incentivized, schools would somehow find the necessary means to improve. This is the way the market works in the economy. Unfortunately, a school’s environment shouldn’t be anything like the competitive nature found in politics, athletics , or the economy if they plan on creating a space where students can develop properly. Schools are places where children can develop as a whole being emotionally, spiritually, physically, and intellectually. This can’t happen where schools are overly controlled from external fears. As long as fear is the central driving force in education, it will never meet the healthy inner needs of the students. It will never be able to inspire from a place of inner confidence. In my view, No Child Left Behind is the greatest threat to a free country where individuals should trust in their own abilities to fulfill their own dreams instead of becoming dependent on government compulsion. To do so is the worst form of socialism that utterly demeans and objectifies what should be free, dignified human beings.
[...] While serving as the governor of Massachusetts, Romney proposed the John and Abigail Adams Scholarships, which would fund almost all college costs for students who graduate in the top quarter of their class and attend any four-year in-state school. He continues to support the creation of merit scholarships for high school students, said Education News. [...]
I agree that this “Act” is exactly that, an Act. There is no true learning going on. My children are taught to the test and before we know it there will be a whole generation, if not already, of incompetent adults who will not be able to live sufficiently on their own, let alone survive in this world. I feel like the Federal Government has over stepped their bounds in my “child’s” very Personal-education. The difference of state governement and Federal Government is that one has a more up close and personal relationship with it’s people and the other is looking at the larger picture on a much different level. There is noooo way the Federal government can be here right now and tell me how my child or children have been affected by the “No Child Left Behind Act”, they are not around to see for themselves. The people that are around to see the effects of this horrible act; teachers, principles etc. have no say in the bettering of our children’s education, they are now backed in a corner when they actually can not help a child who just does not test well(What’s this? Our teachers are not even allowed to do their job now?)….so what then… “Does your child have ADD?” “Does your child take medication?” Excuse me that I will not be joining the greater of the population that drugs their children so as to appease the Federal Governments new standard for children. Children are not robots and I will not adhere to your ruling over my child so that they act like robots just so you look good on paper. This one thing that Mitt Romney supports, even after all that I have agreed with him on, may be the tipping scale. We have got to “DO” something about this!!!! Enough is enough. The message is, “My child is not your experiment, Federal Government, allow the teachers who actually care to teach, you are losing some of the best teachers because you have allowed politics to enter into our children’s schools.” It will be like using cocain for medicine years ago, or smoking cigerettes began as a social thing, now the monster is created and the reprocusions arn’t so great. I have taken my child out of school and will teach her until something can happen differently in schools or until I finally have her caught up. This is not a good game to play with people’s lives, their childrens’ lives and so on…. I was the bread winner in our family because of all the lay off’s my husband has been through, now I had to quit my job just so my daughter doesn’t tell me, after trying very hard in school, she learned that “No matter how hard I try, I will fail.”, with tears in her eyes. Try to make this decision as a parent, it’s not an easy one. So here we are, is any one going to do anything about this? Oh I forgot the Federal Government is in control but has no idea what is happening. And now I find out my favorite candidate supports NCLB.
Who is going to continue to want to teach in the por neighborhoods and to teach special education? We are already underpaid….should we be punished even more for wanting to help an underserved student population that is not going to pass tests with their higher socioeconomic status counterparts? What kind of quality teachers are going to flcok to these kids because someone is going to have to teach them- they are still going to be there- only so many kids will fit their butts into the seats at the “good” schools.
What about accountability for STUDENTS? Be honest everyone, if you had to take a 6 hour test that in no way effected you, how much would you care. I have administered these tests and most kids just bubble in answers. Is that really a true test of the student’s or teacher’s abilities? Etchers are currently shouldering all the blame when in fact education needs to be a joint effort of the parents, students and teachers if there is to be success. How can I teach a kid who does not even care to show up to my class? Am I supposed to drag him out of bed in the morning now? What if I do. What if I teach him all I can and even though he is 100%proficient he does not care enough to take the test seriously. I am all for accountability, but are teachers the only ones being held accountable?
suk balls
l
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Education reform – I would like to say that most of the comments left before mine are on point. I have been a teacher of special education students for 11 years now, with a career in business for 20 years, before I found my true calling. I hear about accountability and pay based on performance. I have this to say. If you truly paid teachers for the jobs we do, we would be earning more than $100,000 yearly. If you did a time and job studyof special education teachers and mid level managers and compared it to the private sector, you would find that more than 95% of teachers do a great job and really care about their students. So, go ahead and talk about accountability and paying us for what we do…. I say bring it on, you can’t really afford us. That is if you truly are equitable and pay us what a person in the private sector with a Masters degree, which most teachers hold, and multiple certification areas. We are like doctors and lawyers and are required annually to maintain certifications and gain new ones. BUT, those new areas of certifications or higher levels of degrees, education, etc. does not yield us any more in pay. Annually when I am reviewed and I get an “exceeds” expectations for the outstanding job I do with my students…… I wonder, ok, what will my pay increase be…. and sadly, generally, it’s a great big ZERO! Enough is enough, we don’t even get cost of living increases annually, let’s talk about that. Congress does….
I think it should be up to the teachers to decide all these laws and policies and whatever. they know their students better than anyone! i think it should be a law that only teachers/educators can make these laws and what not. have them vote on the laws! NOT the senators, governors, or even the president…. these government people have no idea what goes on inside of these schools, so how does it make sense for them to decide what goes and what doesn’t???? If anything, i think these gov’t people make it worse!!! I know a lot of people agree w/ me.. I may only be 17 years old, but i know what i’m talking about. I always go in and help my momma. she is a teacher… a really good one!
Required attendance a parental education classes????? Huh?
Let’s call this what it is! RE-EDUCATION CAMP!
[...] begins, teachers and students will have a scant few months to delve into the platforms of Obama and Romney. And while some might see more similarity than difference, the discussions are still [...]
Americans somehow believe you can “command” improvement in schools or “legislate” it or “test” to achieve it or “privatize” to improve it or “motivate” to improve it or “use technology” to improve it or “teacher-union bash” to improve it. This is all a sad joke.
The only ways to improve education results is to mitigate poverty, train teachers better, pay them more money, and start earlier with ECE.
Nothing else works. We know many of you don’t like to hear this or don’t believe it or don’t want to pay the taxes to support it but just keep going on the losing path and you will sink yourselves.
A Study of Fiscal Autonomy and Accountability Schools
opinion
I believe checks and balances can be codified into law
Every year school boards are faced with asking their governing bodies for revenue they need to continue the services they provide and every year they are short changed. Keep in mind that fiscal responsibility and fiscal irresponsibility are separate issues that may be present with or without fiscal autonomy.Accountability requires responsibility. The governing body, before approval of such increase, should require and put in mechanisms for such through codified prerequisites such as mandatory audits etc. prior to tax increase for revenue above which is required bystate law etc. By giving school boards taxing authority and requiring accountability before approval, school boards would have the authority to decide what is going to happen in their schools and to generate the revenue necessary to
make that happen if the governing body accountability requirements are met.
Data may have changed in the below commentary!
Revenue for K-12 public schools comes primarily from state
governments, local school districts and the federal government. In
the aggregate, the states provide 48% of all revenue, school
districts provide 45%, and the federal government provides 7% of all revenue.1 The majority of state level education funding is
appropriated from state general funds, with other funding from
earmarked taxes such as income and sales taxes. State funding levels,established in state policy, can create incentives or disincentives for districts to provide full-day kindergarten. When states provide funding for full-day kindergarten that is equal to or greater than state funding provided for 1st grade, districts have an incentive to offer full-day kindergarten. To date, only eight states provide school districts with funding for full-day kindergarten that is equal to or greater than that provided for 1st grade.2 In contrast, when states provide funding for full-day kindergarten that is less than funding provided for 1st grade, local revenue sources must make up the difference. Funding for local school districts comes primarily from property taxes. In some states, other sources of revenue provide funding streams, such as local sales taxes and local income taxes. To that end, local district taxation, as well as state limits on spending, play a critical role in whether or not local school districts have the ability to support programs such as full-day kindergarten.
Local Control Over School Budgets and Taxes School district budget and tax rate procedures vary among the states. Often, local school boards have authority for both developing budgets and levying taxes to support district budgets. If school districts can levy taxes to support public education, they are considered
fiscally independent. The nature of this taxing authority varies from state to state. For example, school boards in some states may need voter approval for any tax increase, while others may need only voter approval after a specified tax rate is surpassed.
In some instances, school boards do not have independent tax
authority, so another governmental entity typically a municipal or
county governing body approves the budget and levies taxes. If a
school district cannot levy its own taxes, it is considered fiscally dependent.
Mandatory audits and sound, reasonable audit recommendations and its implementations, as long as it does not negatively impact daily services,
operations and school board constitutional rights, is key.I believe, with great legal minds, checks and balances can be codified into law.
Mandatory audits and sound, reasonable audit recommendations and its implementations, as long as it does not negatively impact daily services,
operations and school board constitutional rights, is key.I believe, with great legal minds, checks and balances can be codified into law.
A review of these comments are straight on. As a teacher of 35 yrs., I have seen changes for the good and for the bad. NCLB has run its course. It is time for it to begone. I have seen more train wrecks created than prevented for far too many kids.
Magic potions and wands do not exist in the area of education. Loyal, creative, and caring teachers with a strong support of parents and administrators are the keys to success. I forgot one more thing….a well funded and supported educational system by our government.
Visiting a classroom for a day is not the answer…do our job day in and out. Take time away from your families to attend professional development sessions, take work home to do every night including weekends and holidays. How about no raise for the last 5 yrs ? How about trying to balance what has already been placed on your plate as well as the extra helpings? How about those kids that find more compassion from us than they do from their families?
No one should ever say we complain..we are just trying to make a point.
We are in this profession because we love it and we have a passion for wanting to touch young lives and make a difference in our students now and in the future.
Politicians and the government need to face reality…our economy needs improvement, yes, but our schools are the foundation for future lives. Give the kids what they need!!! A previous comment mentioned that if Romney wants to pay top teachers, let him have at it ……There are too many of us to reward…it’s true…They can’t afford us!